Ever since I became a Christian I have had a hunger to learn. When I first came to Christ I mostly satisfied this with reading Christian devotional books. I was still in highschool and still making my way through novels for English class, although many of these novels I would just skim and read the spark notes for a summary with hopes to pass a test or write an essay. Now that I am homeschooling my children I have an even deeper hunger for knowledge. Although I still love my Christian devotional books, I feel a desire to expand my horizons. As I look at curriculum for my children, I see amazing history books, literature, and science books. Last year I paved the way by reading my first novels since high school. I read Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
I have realized a practical reading goal for myself is around 15 pages a day. I am a slow reader, or perhaps I reflect on what I read, but 15 pages a day takes me about thirty minutes. I usually choose to have two or three set reading times a day and aim for 5-10 pages. My goal is to read out to about 12 books a year or 3600 pages. The challenge for making a reading list is to include a variety of genres, also to choose some books you know will be easy to get through and some that may be more difficult. I also do not read one book straight through, but rather read 6 at a time and will not add another until one is done. There have been many studies that show the benefit of slow reading and that having a variety of books going keeps interest. Just as one could keep a series of shows separate in one’s head, they can also keep multiple books seperate.
Here is my reading list for the year. Edited for reality : )
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Consider This by Karen Glass (completed)- Education - Ourselves by CHarlotte Mason (started)- Philosophy & Citizenship
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brunte( completed)- NovelMy Antonia by Willa Cather (Completed)* Loved this Novel!The Latin Centered Curriculum(completed) by Andrew Campbell- A philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason (started)- Education
- Give Them Grace by Elyes M. Fitzpartick and Jessica Thomas- PArenting ( Didn’t finish, lost interest)
- The True Path to Godliness by William Teelinch ( half way finished/ had to give back to a friend before finishing)- Devotional
- The Oxford History of the American People by Morison- Started and plan to read over a few years
I would love to hear about how you cultivate the habit of reading and what your reading! I would also love future book recommendations.
I homeschool also and have three children. Dedicated book time (for myself) is challenging for me. I have no idea how many pages or books I read in a year with my kids. We use the Sonlight curriculum and so read hundreds of books each year. My kids have recently fallen in love with the Magic Tree House series.
For myself, my reading time is typically allotted to the Bible. In order to get some fiction and non-fiction squeezed in, I have turned to audible. I can “listen” to my books while doing laundry, dishes, etcetera. I loved the book Unbroken, I am currently reading the Complete Sherlock Holmes. I have enjoyed The King’s Speech, Mere Christianity, The Labors of Hercules, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and As Sure as the Dawn in recent months. I love books, it’s just finding time that’s tricky.
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